Death's blessing
by packman23
Summary: Mysterious figures are attacking villages. There are no survivors. Naruto and his friends are dragged right into the middle of it, fighting for their lives against a dangerous group of assassins. The Dokujin
1. Chapter 1

lAN: I'm sorry if this is an over used idea, I just like it. Set before Naruto leaves to train, a chain of mysterious attacks on small undefended villages, causes the Konoha village to act. Hope you like it.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto I'm probably not even the first person to use this story line. All I am is a fan with too much time on their hands._

Chapter 1: Fire and Rain

The boy ran, too scared to look back. The buildings blurred by without him seeing them; the trees, splintered and twisted, rushed past him reaching out to trip him. To let _them_ catch up.

He had always thought the stories of the Walkers were exciting, creatures that roamed the street searching for souls to drain. In the stories good would always win, they were great monsters. Until they were really there.

The three cloaked figures swirled along the street behind him, striding through the torrential rain without even noticing it. One raised his hand and a fine fog came from it, striking one of the houses on the side of the street. Timbers groaned, cracked, splintered; the house moaned and came crashing down.

Iho had never believed the stories. He hadn't believed a creature could be so heartless, even demons had hearts; but now he regretted his belief, he just wanted to run. His home would become like all the other villages that had been attacked, and he could do nothing, not even rubble would be left.

He ran past a guards outpost, frantically screaming for help, but none came. The outpost was guarded now only by skeletons, their flesh ripped from them by one of the three creatures disturbing powers. The roof of the outpost had been entirely destroyed by the same technique.

"There are more of these pitiful villagers over here." The voice was cold and emotionless. It barely sounded human, "We were to told to kill them all."

Another voice replied, using the same calm, inhuman tone. "Then do it. Don't just stand there talking. Chessokei search that way, Monotori you go that way, report what you find."

Suddenly the sky broke open with a surge of crimson lightening. Iho tripped and fell, crashing into the road, grazing his hands and knees; but he didn't have time to worry about that. The young boy scrambled on his hands and knees in an effort to escape. However before he could go anywhere one of the cloaked figures rose above him, flying on a carpet of storm clouds. Iho could feel the hideous creature searching, hunting him down, gazing through the blanket of rain to find his soul and drag it, kicking and screaming, out of the small child's body. Iho almost screamed, these creatures moved faster than he could have ever imagined, he couldn't outrun them; he was going to die. Iho was about to give up when someone grabbed him and began to drag him into a barn, to safety; but too late.

"There you are!"

Iho looked around him to see about twenty other children of varying ages huddled around him hiding from the monsters, some clutched weapons but most were defenseless; they would never stand a chance against the three Walkers.

The Walkers immediately gathered all three of them flitting out of the shadow to surround the barn. The largest growled.

"Children?"

The leader groaned. "I'm not killing children." The biggest sneered, Iho couldn't see it, but he was sure of it.

"I can kill children, easily. I for one am not going to lose my perfect steak of kills. if you weren't prepared to kill, why did you become an assassin."

The third creature stepped between them, "I will deal with them. I can get rid of them without killing them. I've been looking for a few new _protégées_ to replace some I lost last mission." He grinned and raised his hand.

The clouds began to spin, whirl, merging together into one huge vortex in the sky. Red lightening spread out covering the sky.

The sky flashed and in the surge of energy. Iho saw with a wave of nausea, beneath the hood of the largest walker. There was no mouth, no nose, no ears; just a mask. A gas mask and two staring, soulless, hate filled, red eyes. Iho screamed and heard a deep voice; over powering the sound of rain, of thunder and of Iho's own terror. The voice consumed everything.

"Nusuma reta sora"

Then Iho's mind went blank.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: This is the first Naruto fanfic I've written and I haven't read any so I'm not sure if this one is any good, but please review anyway.

_Disclaimer: I don't speak Japanese, so I can't own Naruto. If I did I would be richer and speak a lot more than just one language._

Chapter 2: Mission to Hell

Tsunade groaned and lowed the file she had been reading. This was a disaster, she only had genin left and now she had another A-class mission to allocate.

"Shizune!" The hokage's assistant hurried into the room. "Who do we have left?"

"We have Kakashi's team and if we wait a few days we can allocate Kurenai and Gai's teams can be used to reinforce them."

Tsunade frowned. "We still don't have enough ninjas to respond to the request immediately. Okay allocate Kakashi's team to reconnaissance. Inform them that they must not engage the enemy if at all possible, they are only a three man cell so they should not attempt to attack whatever it is that's launching these attacks."

"Attacks?" Shizune picked up the file that Tsunade threw down onto the table and read it aloud, "There have been attacks on 48 villages near the land of corn. All villages were completely destroyed and there were no survivors. The size and power of the enemy is unknown as is their motives." She put the file down. "Genin can't handle this kind of mission, just wait till one of the jonin teams get back in a few days."

"In a few days all the villages in that area will be destroyed." Tsunade snapped "We need to act now." She raised the file so Shizune could see the dates of the attacks. "48 attacks, in three days." She sighed. "Send team 7 on reconnaissance, then send any other cells you can muster as reinforcements. We need to deal with this quickly."

Shizune recognising that this meeting was over bowed and hurried out to make the necessary arrangements.

-*-

Naruto was busy doing one of the few things he was good, eating ramen, when Kakashi found him. The jonin groaned, Naruto never seemed prepared for any mission, he could take up to half an hour to get ready to leave.

"Naruto, we have to leave now, it's very important."

Naruto finished his food and leapt up from his chair. "So where are we going Kakashi sensei"

"The land of corn, there have been some attacks on the villages around that area." Kakashi paused, "It may interest you to know that this is at least, an A-class mission."

-*-

"Come on Kakashi-sensei, we need to get there quickly." Naruto sped ahead of his team mates. Sakura sighed Naruto just wouldn't slow down for anyone. The thought of an A-class mission spurred him on at incredible speed. Kakashi leapt across from tree to tree.

"We should be at the land of corns border in a few minutes, once we are there we can..."

A man in a large cloak dropped down infront of them, his hood fell from his head allowing Kakashi to see the mans face. He had black hair, relatively long and hanging down over his eyes. His eyes were bright red and his mouth merely a slit. However it was not this that interested the jonin, the man's whole form was flooded with a strange kind of crimson chakra, it pulsed through his body in time with his heartbeat. The man sneered cruelly, raising his hand in a mocking wave.

"Greetings, I am Monotori, what are you doing in my land?"

Kakashi moved warily into a defensive stance, "You aren't the lord of this land. Why are you blocking us."

The man smiled, "You are ninjas from the Konoha village, you are here to investigate attacks on the local village. I am here to kill you."

He leapt off the branch throwing three kunai knives which were easily blocked then shot a fire ball that Kakashi easily avoided. bringing his foot swinging into the man in the cloaks chest.

The man smiled grabbing Kakashi's foot and the strange chakra intensified. Red lightening shot down Kakashi's leg and covered his body, he felt as if his soul was being torn out. Then every chakra signal he could see disappeared.

Naruto and Sakura gasped as their sensei staggered backwards, disorientated by his opponents jutsu.

"What did you do?"

Monotori staggered, apparently as thrown by the technique as Kakashi, he turned his eyes closed tightly. As he regained balance he opened his eyes to reveal...

"Looking for this." Kakashi's sharingan.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Believe me it should get a lot better. If not a bit complicated.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any other anime, manga or franchise of any kind in fact I read all the manga on the internet._

Chapter 3: Stolen Sky

Monotori smirked, staring down at his opponents laughing. "I like this power _sharingan _Kakashi... But now you're just Kakashi. I've got your sharingan."  
Naruto yelled and leapt at Monotori, but the man disappeared quicker than Naruto would have thought possible. He reappeared, behind Sakura, driving his foot into her back with a surge of red power.

"Medical jutsu, I've been wanting more of that for some time, it's very useful." Sakura tried to remember her medical training, but it was gone. Monotori sneered again, "My name means thief as I'm sure you've guessed. Monotori Gomanohai of the Stolen Sky. Any interesting skills you had are now mine, or at least one of your skills." He bowed, "I wasn't sure before, but I can tell you now. My power level are surpasses your powers greatly. Goodbye."

Monotori surged backwards, leapt into the air releasing a huge fire ball. His hands moved so fast they were a blur as he released a huge wave of air. Then forming huge clouds under his feet lifting him into the air and out of sight.

-*-

From the shadows two people watched.

"Well, it looks like our new member gained some new skills."

The older one groaned "He'll be boasting about that eye for weeks."

"It doesn't matter, as long as we finish our mission, everything will be worth it."

The smaller man smiled at the larger, who merely adjusted his mask and the liquid tanks on his back. They both turned the smaller raising his umbrella. A few seconds later the place where they had been standing was obliterated.

-*-

Kakashi finished writing his report to the hokage. He described the enemy they had faced along with his bizarre jutsu. He sighed, this mission had got very dangerous, very quickly. He knew his team couldn't finish this mission alone, all they need was one other opponent like that and they were doomed.

He turned to Naruto and Sakura, "Okay, so we need to avoid any further contact with enemies of that power. We also can't afford to follow that guy. He probably knows most of our jutsus by now, that technique he had seemed to be some sort of mind reading skill."

Sakura sighed, "We lost our medical jutsu and sharingan. Now we don't really have anything except Naruto's moves. We don't stand a chance."

Naruto groaned, "I don't see why we can't follow that guy and beat whoever he's working for."

Kakashi sighed, he hated having to explain the same thing ten times. "We've been through this Naruto. It is unlikely that the assassin will go directly to the person who hired him. He might not even know who that is. He'll just go back to a higher ranking assassin, who will probably be even more powerful than he is. Whoever he reports to would be capable completely destroying us in the state we're in now. I think we should just get some rest and wait for reinforcements."

Kakashi sat back down, trying not to show how worried he was; if they had met someone this strong so early on, he dreaded to think what kind of power the people they met later would have. They just had to hope that backup arrived soon.

-*-

Tsunade looked down the list again and groaned, she hadn't thought it likely that the assassin would use his real name. It looked like she was right; around a hundred people fitted the description Kakashi had sent her, none of them higher than B-rank; but with an enemy like that you never knew. It only took one careless S-rank ninja and an assassin like that could become an A-rank. She put down the file and looked at the ninja standing opposite her. Shikamaru Nara had recently become a chunin, he wasn't incredibly powerful; but he was clever, and the best she had available.

"The enemy you may have to face is incredibly powerful, with a jutsu that steals other powers and unknown other skills. He appears to be working with other rouge ninja, also of unknown capacity and number."

Shikamaru yawned and stretched, he'd heard briefings like this a thousand times before. "So what do you want me to do? The rest of my team is away on various missions. I can't defeat people this powerful on my own."

Tsunade groaned, Shikamaru may be brilliant but he was incredibly unmotivated, if she wanted him to go to the Land of Corn she'd have to push him all the way. "You will be put in charge of Team 8 and lead them to support Team 7." She raised her hand to silence Shikamaru's inevitable complaints. "In addition, you will gather as much information as you can about who these assassins are and who they are working for. If we can't eliminate them maybe we can eliminate the person whose paying them."

Shikamaru sighed, then gave up, it wasn't worth the effort arguing. "I'll see what I can do Ma'am." The chunin picked up the files and left the room.

From the window a shadow withdrew, it had closely integrated itself with Shikamaru's own and now it had what it needed.

"Not enough." It laughed, "They're not sending nearly enough."


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thanks to everyone who read my story. Please don't forget to review, a little constructive criticism never hurt.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. I only own the Dokujin._

Chapter 4: Search Parties.

Shikamaru smiled, the team he had been allocated had proved very effective at avoiding danger in the past. He knew that could be very useful, but so far they had not seen anything to suggest an enemy. By the time his team reached the border village of the Land of Corn they were ahead of schedule and maintained a positive outlook. Shikamaru knew there was an inclination to become to relaxed, and up against enemies this powerful, that could be fatal. He began to take control attempting to keep some form of order.

"It needs to appear that we're just passing through, if our enemy realises that we are sending more ninjas to the area they're sure to attack. We'll book a room, but try to make it look like we'll be on our way soon. However if the opportunity presents itself it is our utmost priority to discover more about our enemies techniques and number." He turned away from Kiba, Shino and Hinata, "For that reason we will spread out across the area to research our opposition."

... ...

Shikamaru's team eventually returned from their investigations and the chunin was disappointed to discover that they had found very little besides folklore and rumour. He would just have to resign himself to the fact that these assassins weren't going to be easy to find. He had at least found a good, isolated tavern to stay at.

They entered and were immediately met by a large cheerful man who Shikamaru assumed was the landlord. He had medium length sandy blond hair and a small goatee. Seeing four young teenage ninjas he smiled.

"Nice to see some new blood in this village. An important mission is it?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "No we're just passing through."

The man frowned, obviously disheartened, "Shame, we could do with some help around here those Walkers could do with someone to put them in their place." He had a deep, calm, poetic voice that seemed to glide from word to word, his body language was similar. Shikamaru found it strange that someone that large could move so gracefully, he didn't even seem to notice that he was much bigger than anyone else in the room.

They were so busy ordering the room that no one except Shikamaru saw the shadow detach from Kiba's and flit across the room to a man in a travelers cloak. The man stood up and turned slowly striding out of the room, as if defying the chunin to try and stop him. Shikamaru considered chasing him but hesitated. Just half an hour ago he had been giving a lecture about the possibility that the enemy was incredibly dangerous; after that he couldn't just go pursuing an unknown adversary.

The innkeeper noticed that Shikamaru was distracted and smiled, "See something interesting. Yes we get a lot of odd people in here, it can be very... inspiring. So what caught your eye?"

Shikamaru turned his attention back to the landlord, "Oh, it was nothing. Just someone I recognised."  
The large man raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?" He turned away and disappeared back into the crowd, seemingly forgetting his conversation. Shikamaru was confused, a rare occurrence, something in this village didn't add up; he just wasn't sure what.

... ...

The small boy staggered through the forest, in an attempt to reach the village. He stumbled fell, stood shakily back up and continued to wobble slowly forwards, before falling once more. He began to crawl through the trees, struggling to rise to his feet. His hand slipped he lost balance and plummeted forwards, not even knowing why he was running.

... ...

Hinata was unable to sleep. She couldn't rest without doing something to help against the enemy. She got up and walked slowly to the window, her Byakugan easily cutting though the darkness. She looked out across the landscape, feeling a sense of calm and joy as she saw the picturesque land around the village. She sighed and was about to go back inside when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A small figure was tripping and stumbling across the road, barely able to maintain balance. Hinata watched the tiny speck struggle to continue. She leapt from the balcony and sped towards the figure. Getting closer she realised the figure was a small boy, about four years younger than her, with tangled black hair and ripped clothing. He toppled forwards, almost falling with each step. He looked exhausted, as if every movement was impossible for him. The boy continued to stumble, tripping again. Hinata darted forwards catching him as he fell and holding him up. She was surprised to see someone this young out in the cold and rain this late. She looked with concern at him.

"Are you okay?" She realised this was a stupid question "What's your name?"

The boy looked up with blank eyes. He coughed and hiccoughed, "Iho, I'm Iho."

"Where are your parents?"

The boy's face went white. He began to shiver and sobbed. "I don't know."

"Where are you from?"

Iho screwed up his eyes obviously concentrating, "I don't know. I can't remember. I don't remember anything." He hiccoughed a few times and burst into tears.

Hinata was stunned; this boy seemed terrified, but he couldn't remember what he was running from. She picked the boy up and headed back to her team as quickly as possible. Waking Shikamaru and her team mates. Kiba and Shino immediately woke and sped away to scan the surrounding area for enemies. Shikamaru stretched, yawned and slowly got up.

"What is it now?" He noticed Iho. "Who is he?"

Hinata quickly explained and the chunin stretched yet again. He thought for a minute, "He's probably a victim from one of the other villages. That would explain why there were no witnesses..." He placed his hands together in his thinking position and contemplated this. "That ninja Kakashi's team encountered, his jutsu must steal memories, that's how he takes other ninjas' jutsus." He sighed, "This mission could be more complicated than I thought, what a drag. Well I guess he can tag along, he might remember something useful."

Hinata was slightly thrown, the enemy seemed more and more dangerous by the second. She glanced over at Iho, he just sat there staring at the ceiling silently. It was strange to see such a small child sitting so quietly and still, as if he wished he was somewhere else, but didn't quite remember where.

... ...

The shadow withdrew from the window, he could of dealt with this situation easily; if only those ninjas hadn't turned up, just at the wrong time. It grumbled and backed away, he may not be able to deal with this, but he knew someone who could.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: This story is going to go on for a while but I thought it was time to introduce someone new. By the way Iho means memory.

_Disclaimer: I own nothing. I don't own Naruto. I don't own any anime or manga. Although I wish I did._

Chapter 5: Poison Moth

Shikamaru's group set off early in the morning, being careful to avoid detection. For all they knew anyone in the village could be working with the enemy. He was careful to make sure that they could not be easily tracked. Kiba and Akamaru carried Iho, and they disappeared quickly into the forest. Hinata and Shino sped on ahead searching for enemies.

-*-

The man smiled, signaling to a second figure in a traveling cloak. The cloaked figure steepled his fingers and crouched down placing his hands on the bark of the tree; he grew smaller and disappeared with a loud buzzing sound. The first man smiled and leapt down, easily disguising his scent and chakra from the young ninjas.

-*-

Shikamaru glanced behind him, he was sure they were being followed; but Hinata and Kiba had assured him no enemies were near. He dismissed the thought from his mind, before speeding forwards to catch up with the rest of his team.

"Are we nearly at the rendezvous point."

Hinata turned to him, "Nearly, we'll be there in about an hour."

"Oh. Your not going anywhere." A figure stepped out infront of them, he wore a grey trench coat and large brimmed hat. "You have something that belongs to the Dokujin, return it." He gestured to Iho and the boy backed away whimpering.

The man stepped closer, his face obscured by a black scarf. Even so his voice and movement style were easily recognizable.

He was the landlord from the tavern.

The man continued to come closer, Hinata focusing in on him with her Byakugan. He simply smiled, "Well, if you won't hand him over. I'll just have to take him." Saying this he flicked his wrists and leapt to the left faster than Shikamaru would have thought possible for a man of his size.

He dodged past Kiba and Shino, throwing a kunai knife as he did. It missed thudding into the ground; but not before the large man had landed behind Hinata and pinned her arms behind her back.

"Well let me show why I'm feared." He raised a finger, allowing the ninjas to see the razor sharp metal points on the end of his gloves; these were connected into a network of thin metal pipes that fed into a small set of five tiny vials on the back of his hand. He sneered, "Watch." He lowered his finger and gently scraped it across Hinata's neck, leaving a thin cut. He let Hinata go and pushed her forwards, so she sprawled on the ground. The man then leapt away, turning to Hinata as he left. "Keep watching."

Hinata groaned and climbed shakily to her feet. Her Byakugan seemed to have stopped working and she felt queasy. Staggering forwards she put her hand out for help, but Iho sneered at her, when he opened his mouth the assassin's voice came out "You really expect it to be that easy."

Hinata stumbled back startled, Shikamaru looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Help us Hinata. Its... Ugh!" He bent double, cringing with pain. He tried to raise his head but screamed with pain and fear. He fell forward on to his knees, his skin bubbling hideously. He opened his mouth to scream again but no sound came out. He collapsed, his entire body rippling out of shape and exploding in to a horrible swarm of bats. Hinata screamed and tried to back further away, but felt her back hit a tree. She watched in horror as Kiba and Akamaru both fell forwards, transforming into hideous demons on the way down. She sank to her knees burying her head in her hands, trying to block out the nightmare world that was surrounding her. But the demons crowded in around her, ripping through reality, filling her vision, howling her name. "Hinata! Come with us. Come and see hell. Hinata, Hinata!"

She could hear another sound from somewhere far in the distance. "Hinata." She tried to focus in on it, "Hinata, snap out of it."

-*-

Kiba bent down over Hinata; unable to hide his concern. "Hinata." She shivered and whimpered, staring around wildly, as if not really seeing. Kiba turned on the assassin, "What have you done."

The man merely smirked, performing a mock bow, "Poison. Simple, fast acting, hallucinogenic poison. It's much more effective than your ridiculous jutsu." He raised his hand and signaled to someone. Shikamaru backed away, but not before the trees around them began to collapse with a deafening buzzing sound. Trees were torn to splinters, Kiba and Hinata were thrown off the ground and a man in a large travelers cloak. He spread his arms wide, throwing his hood off; the buzzing noise stopped and the man straightened up allowing Shikamaru to see his face. He had longish brown hair, gelled up in spikes, and green eyes; with a scar over his left one. The new enemy raised his hand and opened his mouth; his voice was rough, underlined with a kind of buzzing echo.

"I'm sorry for being late... _Sir." _The last word was whispered, almost spat, with contempt. "But tell me... How many can I kill?"

The poisoner frowned, "One or two. How about... Them." He gestured to Shino and Kiba, then turned back to Shikamaru, "That leaves you. You're mine!"

He leapt forwards, swinging his hands at Shikamaru. The chunin stumbled backwards just avoiding the slashing blades. The large man stopped, and sneered.

"Huh, it looks like I should raise the stakes a little." He clicked out one of the small vials and opened his coat. Shikamaru saw the mans entire shirt was criss-crossed by belts; each belt was covered in different coloured vials. He picked out a few vials and slotted them in to his gloves. "There." He raised his finger, "Enough poison to kill an elephant, or a ninja brat."

Kiba leapt at his opponent, the man smiled and Kiba passed straight through him. The man smiled and raised his hands, shrugging, "Bad luck kid. Why don't you try again." He sneered at Kiba, then turned back to Shino. "What about you kid, like your chances."

Shino looked at him raising his hands and sending bugs swarming in, to surround the enemy, Shino almost smiled, the man had no chance. Shino was about to turn away, when he heard a buzzing sound. Shino tried to control his bugs to swarm and cut of the mans escape' but he couldn't; his bugs were disappearing, being eaten away. The buzzing grew louder and the man's form appeared in the swarm, which was growing sparser and thinner by the second. The man licked his lips and smiled, "Delicious, please attack me again, I look forward to it." He placed his hand on the tree next to him.

"Let me show you my moves... It's time you DIE!!"


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I enjoy writing this fanfic, it's much more action packed than anything I've tried writing before.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I only own the Dokujin._

Chapter 6: Shadow games

Shino backed away and Kiba leapt back to his feet; the man laughed, it sounded like there was sand in his voice box. Then the man opened his mouth wide, there was a sickening cracking sound and a huge white wave slid out. An endless wave of maggots. Shino backed away further, he could feel the chakra radiating through these bugs. Even Kiba faltered, these bugs were hideously evil, he could sense it. Akamaru growled backing away, the maggots encroaching still closer. The man grinned.

"My bugs are a bit more flexible than yours. Chakra? That's nothing. My bugs will eat anything. Including YOU!" He began to laugh again, his voice echoed by a thousand chattering maggots. The man sneered, "I'm going to eat tonight. I'll have a feast!"

-*-

Shikamaru dodged again, he was feeling exhausted and his enemy seemed to be using no energy at all. The huge man strode forwards easily dodging the chunin's blows and replying with his own deadly strikes. The poisoner launched another strike and grinned.

"You're pathetic, and your friends are about to die. All because you weren't strong enough."

He took another step forwards, raising his glove to bring it slashing down. Shikamaru ducked, the blade barely missing him, as it sailed into a tree.

-*-

Kiba leapt at the assassin, but the man merely leapt up into one of the few remaining trees, sneering down at Kiba.

"I guess I'll have to deal with you kids myself."

He surged forwards his hands cutting through the wood and devouring it. He stopped, licking his lips, and raised a hand, releasing a massive surge of bugs.

Kiba backed away, barely avoiding the maggots. The man shuffled forwards, maggots crawling out of every crease of his huge cloak. From the ground Hinata stirred, she saw the figure towering over her friends; she saw the swarm of maggots, and she acted. Standing shakily to her feet, still feeling dizzy, Hinata stepped forwards. She leapt up, dodging over the maggots and landing behind the man, her Byakugan showing his exposed chakra network; Hinata raised her hands and brought them down heavily on the chakra points on the man's shoulders. The man rocked on his feet, barely having time to register surprise before Kiba's Fang Over Fang technique knocked him off the ground. The man smashed into a tree and slid to the ground, his maggots moving to protect him. However, before they could Shino's bugs surrounded him, eating his chakra. The maggots felt the man's chakra grow weaker and began to disperse. Hinata turned away, the enemy was done for, Shino soon realised this and his bugs withdrew from the limp body.

-*-

Shikamaru darted backwards again, the poisoner stepping forwards leisurely yawning; he wasn't even taking this battle seriously. The man had underestimated Shikamaru, that was a mistake. He sent his shadow darting around, but the man neatly sidestepped it. The man bent forwards sending his hand flying out, under Shikamaru's guard. The chunin fell backwards landing heavily on his ankle, twisting his leg round. He yelled out in pain and his enemy advanced.

"Any last words? You weakling!" He kicked the chunin.

Shikamaru took a second to think and looked up. "Yes. Shadow possession jutsu success."

The man stumbled back, a look of surprise spreading across his face. "What!?"

Shikamaru stood up slowly, smiling. "You really shouldn't criticize other people's strength until you've really seen it." He raised his hands. He could feel his opponent trying to force out of it but he had no choice. Slowly, the poisoner raised his hand above his head, a look of utmost hatred in his eyes. "I've won!"

Shikamaru brought his hands surging down, striking himself in the stomach. The man was forced to do the same, his poison needles, puncturing his skin and injecting a huge amount of poison into his system. Shikamaru smiled, stumbled and fell unconscious to the floor.

-*-

Shikamaru awoke to see his friends standing over him, concern on their faces; even Iho was hovering quietly by a tree looking worried. Shikamaru sighed and stood up.

"We can't waste time. Are the enemy still here?"

Kiba nodded, "Both their hearts have stopped."

Shikamaru frowned, "We have to get to the rendezvous point."

Hinata stepped forwards with a basic medic kit, but Shikamaru brushed her away. "We don't have time. Besides, I'm fine."

Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. It was pointless to argue when Shikamaru was like this. Kiba, Shino and Hinata tapped off the ground and into the forest ahead, followed by Iho. No one saw Shikamaru hastily roll up his sleeve. A small, thin cut ran from his wrist to half way down his forearm; it was bleeding very heavily for such a small cut. Shikamaru groaned, but continued. He couldn't show weakness, he couldn't let his friends down. They were relying on him.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I really like this fanfic. But I do feel a bit guilty about what Hinata had to go through in the last few chapters. Still, it did prove my assassin's power. Please review.

_Disclaimer: I am not a Japanese manga writer or an anime producer. So I don't own Naruto._

Chapter 7: Escape from Death

At the feet of the two fallen assassins' a shadow, pulsed. It laughed and rose, taking form, taking a human shape. Colour surged into it, through every part of it, and the man rose from the shadows.

"You two are pathetic. Call yourself assassins?"

The maggot user growled, "About time Kaodori. I didn't see you on the battle field."

The shadow ninja smiled cruelly, "I was gathering information, very good information." He tossed a file infront of the other two, "Those ninja you were fighting. This is a record of everything there is to know about them. Direct from Lady Tsunade's files."

The poisoner spat onto the ground, "Don't ever mention that name infront of me."

Kaodori changed his tone, "I almost believed you were dead, momentary heart stop, very convincing."

The poison user smiled, happy to receive compliments, "It was nothing, I can stretch the heart stop up to a minute." He stood up, "But enough idle talk, I have information I think our subordinates will find very interesting."

-*-

Sakura flicked through yet another book on medical jutsu, but it was useless; she couldn't regain the memories Monotori had stolen and relearning it would be far too slow. She groaned and tossed the books away.

"Having problems?" She looked up to see Kakashi, waiting outside the door. He walked in bending down and picking up the book. "I've tried to regain my sharingan but it seems to be impossible." He stopped for a second apparently lost in thought but then recovered, returning his attention to Sakura. "Anyway, I thought you'd be interested to know that back up has arrived."

Sakura started, jumping up and hurrying out of the room. Naruto had already reached the edge of their makeshift camp and was talking to the head of the relief force. The man had his back to Sakura but she could still hear everything that was said.

"Naruto, you idiot, we have a mission; we can't afford to mess around. These enemies are even more powerful than we thought."

He began to turn, but Sakura didn't need to see his face, Shikamaru Nara was easily recognizable by his bored speech style. He may be lazy but Sakura couldn't think of anyone more tactically skilled, he was just the person they needed. She noted the others who had been sent, Hinata, Shino and Hinata. They were all people who she would be glad to have as backup. She smiled and ran over to greet them.

Shikamaru quickly began giving instructions, wincing every so often. He turned and smiled at someone, Sakura saw a small boy she didn't recognise and crossed over to the chunin.

"Who is this?"

Shikamaru looked up at her, "This is Iho. We believe him to be from one of the destroyed villages but he's lost his memory. We thought you could help us regain it."

Sakura looked at her feet and sighed. "I should of written this in the report but... One of the jutsus taken by our enemy was my medical jutsu."

Shikamaru stopped in his tracks, the smile falling from his face; he winced again. Then pitched forwards, unconscious.

-*-

"He's got some sort of cut on his arm; it won't stop bleeding. He must have been poisoned in the fight." Shikamaru could hear voices but he couldn't quite place who it was.

"Will he be okay?" A quiet voice shy and not very confident.

The first voice replied, edged with concern, "I'm not sure. I checked the record for the people you fought and they're incredibly powerful, both S-rank."

Shikamaru stirred; he needed to help his friends and that meant he needed to gain as much information about the enemy as he could. He opened his eyes but saw only blurry disjointed shapes. Groaning he tried to sit up, pain rocket through his entire body and he fell back down.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He could heard Sakura say. "From the few things I remember about poison, I can tell you that this one is very powerful."

Shikamaru frowned, "What did you find out?"

"You should rest."

Shikamaru shook his head, "I need to know."

Sakura sighed, but saw it was pointless to complain, groaned and lifted a large file out of her papers. "The one that used maggots matches the description of Uji Shichu a wandering ninja, not much is known about him; except that his maggots will eat just about everything. The other one is much easier to find information about. Dokuga was a medical ninja from the land of mist, he's reported to be the greatest poisoner in history. Some of his poisons have never been cured except by himself. He was a genius, he even competed with Tsunade. His poisons have resisted every traditional antidote I've used on it, the poison seems to neutralize the antidote itself."

Shikamaru winced, the news just got worse and worse. First he'd been poisoned and now it turned out that his enemy was a legendary poison master. He sighed rolled over contemplating this.

Sakura was about to turn when she heard Shikamaru speak "So I'm going to die." He sounded oddly calm, "What a drag."

Sakura turned away, it was horrible to hear such a morbid thought put across so matter-of-factly. She sighed and began to walk away, the others following her.

Only Hinata and Iho stayed next Shikamaru's bed. Iho stared sadly down at the person who he had only known for a few hours. Hinata on the other hand saw a friend, about to die. She gulped back tears; he had fought so bravely to save all of them and now he was going to perish at the hand of some assassin while the murderer sat miles away. She stood up, someone had to do something; no one deserved a fate like this. Hinata quickly made her decision and left the room. She activated her Byakugan and stepped over the camp boundaries disappearing into the night.

She was going to make a deal. She was going to save Shikamaru.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: This story is soon going to be over run with assassins, so I thought I'd just stay with the ones we already know for this chapter. This story is a lot of fun to write.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto okay. I'm just a fan. A fan whose run out of jokes._

Chapter 8: Hinata's Deal

The air crackled with energy, clouds rippling into a passageway. The air ripped into a huge void and three figures stepped out. The Walkers gliding out of the rumours and legends into reality. The one on the left raised his hands, bringing red energy down from the sky. He laughed and stepped forwards.

"Run, you dogs. Run and die!" His voice cut through the darkness like a knife and Monotori sneered out across the small village.

Soon there wouldn't even be rubble.

-*-

Hinata saw the lights in the sky and smiled to herself. The assassins may be powerful but they were easy to find. She changed direction and headed towards the area. She activated her Byakugan seeing that a localized storm had sprung up. As Hinata grew closer she saw that the sky in that area was saturated completely with a strange type of chakra. She reached the edge of the storm and was not surprised to see that it was on the exact border of a small village. She waited on the edge of the village searching through it to find the enemy. From Sakura's report she recognised Monotori, the jutsu stealer, standing next to a large man in a gas mask who carried three large gas canisters on his back. They were striding around the wreckage searching for survivors, but a third man simply stood there. Hinata edged slightly closer to the enemy, to try and see the man's face. He was carrying an umbrella, wearing the same kind of cloak as the others and a hat from the land of rain. The man had sandy blond hair and seemed to be in charge but he was much younger than Hinata would have suspected, only a few years older than she was. Even so she could sense this man was powerful; his chakra was the same as the kind that was rippling through the sky, creating the storm. In fact the assassins gathered here all had unusually large amounts of chakra.

Hinata was beginning to reconsider coming here; these ninjas were all hugely more powerful and experienced than her. She would be killed if she went up against them. She began to back away, but as she did the young rain ninja looked up and frowned. He had the same bored but intelligent look Shikamaru usually did.

"Someones here. Someone who shouldn't be in this village." He paused for a minute closed his umbrella and stretched out a hand, "She's one of the ninja we were given a file on." He turned around and smiled arrogantly, "Come out, come out."

Hinata slipped out of her hiding place and walked slowly forwards, unconsciously moving into a defensive stance. Monotori sneered, "A Hyuga, I haven't seen one of them before." He licked his lips, "Very rare."

The large one shifted his weight and swung his arms, covered with pipes and metal plates, up to an offensive stance, "What do you think we should do?" The pipes began to hiss, "Can I kill her?"

Hinata began to back away, but the young assassin smiled, lowering his hood. "No. I think we should hear her out. If we have an opportunity we should take it; an easy victory may be less fulfilling but it's still a victory." He turned to Hinata and gestured for her to continue.

Hinata tried to suppress her nervousness and to stop her voice from wavering. "I came to make a deal."

The man with the umbrella sighed, "And now we reach the problem. What can you offer us, we have all the information we need and I don't doubt Kaodori's skills of investigation. You won't be able to pay us more than our client and you don't seem to have sufficient power to defeat us; if you could have, you most probably would have by now."

Hinata had been dreading this, she almost turned and ran; but her friends needed her, Shikamaru would die otherwise. "I have the Byakugan." Monotori looked up, obviously interested. She pressed on, "And my memories."

The assassins' leader smiled, "I think we have a deal. Now what do you want for this?"

"My friend was poisoned, we can't cure him. I need an antidote."

The large man frowned, "Are you sure we can trust him Sanseiu?"

Sanseiu shrugged, but Monotori stepped forwards smiling.

"If she thinks that her friend's life is worth a lifetime of memories, then why should we argue?"

He raised his hands to the sky, smiling. Hinata closed her eyes and braced herself. She felt her mind swim with memories that weren't hers. Her soul felt like it was being torn out and all she could hear was Monotori's voice, filling the whole world.

"nusuma reta sora: sora no arashi."


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I'd like to thank my brother for coming up with the basic storyline for this and for creating most of the assassins

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I never will; unless my plan for world domination works. Then I will own you all._

Chapter 9: Antidotes

Shikamaru rolled over and groaned; it hurt, every movement hurt now. Whatever poison was coursing through his veins now was tearing him apart. He could barely keep his eyes open, the toxin had sapped all his energy.

Standing over him Sakura shook her head. If the poison could not be cured soon Shikamaru was done for. She sighed and dropped the file she had been holding turning away from the chunin; she began to cross over to the door.

Before she got there however a loud authoritative knock came from the door. Sakura froze; her friends were asleep and wouldn't bother waiting at the door any way. Nervously she reached forwards grasping the door handle and easing it open.

Iho stood on the steps of the building, he was holding a small bottle of violet liquid. He stepped forwards nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot. He stuttered and smiled anxiously, "I found this... near the forest." He passed the bottle to Sakura along with a piece of paper, "This was next to it."

Sakura took the bottle and read the letter, it said simply, 'Your friend persuaded us.' Sakura looked at it for a second then suddenly realised what it meant. Someone had made a deal with the assassins, this had to have been sent by them. However she had other priorities first. This bottle might contain an antidote; even if it didn't Shikamaru's health couldn't get any worse. She walked over to the chunin's bedside and held the vial up for him to see.

"Shikamaru, drink this medicine. It'll make you better."

The ninja raised his hand, exhausted. "I know what medicine is. Hmph, now I'm being treated like a child." He winced again, "What a drag." Sakura was amazed how well he was resisting the poison; he was trying hard not to be weak, not to let his friends down.

Sakura lifted the bottle to Shikamaru's lips he took a sip and smiled raising his hand and pushing the bottle back to drink more. Sakura was even more surprised, Shikamaru immediately seemed to have more energy. She raised his arm higher and noticed that the cut had stopped bleeding. The antidote must be hugely effective, it had acted so quickly.

Shikamaru shook his head, he was still to tired to stand up but he could feel the poison receding, being flushed out of his system. He looked over to see Sakura watching him, he raised a hand.

"I'm fine. You need to go and wake the others." He tried to get up but fell back down, "We need to find Hinata." He tried to rise again, tripping and falling out of his bed.

Sakura groaned and reached down, helping Shikamaru up and supporting him. He stumbled trying to shift his weight to his own feet but almost collapsed. After a few seconds of wasted effort and vain attempts to regain balance, Shikamaru finally swallowed his pride and grudgingly accepted Sakura's help to stand.

First they woke the others. Kiba and Shino instantly organized into a search party; Naruto however yawned and woke blearily.

Sakura finally managed to get the others organized and returned to Shikamaru's room to find the young ninja leaning against the wall, supported by a long thick staff; it made him look a lot older than he really was. He raised his head as she entered frowning slightly.

"I'm going to guess Hinata was the one who got the antidote." Sakura nodded and he continued, "She's the only one of us who could've. Shino would have consulted us, Kiba would just attack the assassins and Naruto is too dumb to reason with the assassins. However..." He winced, his body was going to take a while to recover from the poison, "Now we must assume that the enemy knows everything Hinata does, we no longer have the element of surprise."

Sakura grimaced, she knew he was right but that didn't make it any easier to accept. They were up against unknown enemies who had them outnumbered and out gunned. They were just a group of genin and chunin up against some of the most powerful mercenary ninjas in the world.

-*-

Kaodori looked out at the camp, a smile spreading across his face. He watched them prepare their little search party; he watched the bugs speed past, not even noticing him. He almost laughed; the files had overrepresented his enemies' abilities, these ninjas were pathetic. They wouldn't last a minute against his subordinates.

Especially not against _that one._


	10. Chapter 10

AN: This story still needs a few more characters but we're about half way there. This story is really fun to write.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any related character._

Chapter Ten: The Hunt

Running, nothing but fear. Not even knowing why they were chasing her. The girl ran, trees reaching out to grab her flying past faster than she thought was possible. She was exhausted but she couldn't slow down. A woman's cold voice came from behind her.

"Stop! We might even let you live."

The girl didn't listen she just kept going. Stumbling, tripping, staggering she could barely keep herself up but she had to run. She had to escape.

-*-

Kiba and Akamaru quickly accelerated ahead of the other members of the search party. Shino stood silently on a branch, bugs panning out in all directions. Even Naruto and Sakura spread around searching for their friend. All Shikamaru could do was lean on a makeshift walking cane; he felt useless, but it would be best for everyone if he used the time to try to come up with a strategy to combat the enemies they had already encountered.

Sakura had searched for a while but soon realised she wasn't being much help. Deciding to leave the search to the professional trackers she retreated to stand beside Shikamaru, listening as he explained his plans.

"The bug master we met could prove very dangerous against Shino and Kiba but as far as I can tell he shouldn't be to dangerous if we keep our distance, the problem will be those bugs. As for the others, the poisoner is a problem. He can kill with a single scratch, could probably cure any poison we use against him, even his own. On top of this he doesn't seem to use any jutsus so if it comes down to a battle of attrition he will win every time. However if we avoid him we should be okay. And the jutsu stealer may seem unbeatable since we don't know the full extent of his power; even so it seems he can only use this skill at close range."

Sakura was surprised, "What do you base that assumption on."

Shikamaru smiled slightly, "The enemy you faced coordinated his jutsu with his attacks, also when he retreated very quickly. If he was able to take jutsus at far range he would have used it before revealing himself and the speed of his retreat suggests that the move requires a large amount of chakra. Therefore the best strategy to use against all the assassins we have met so far is to attack from a distance." He turned away and began to talk to himself. "No, that won't work. There are too many variables, but it's the best I can do with the information I have." He shook his head, "What a drag."

-*-

Kaodori looked on as the ninjas ran around playing their little game. He frowned, just when he thought he had the world worked out someone came and messed with his perspective. Why would someone work so hard to save someone else? He would just have to watch these people for a while. Soon he would understand them completely, that was what he was here for.

-*-

Kiba had had no luck so far. Whoever they were up against had confused the tracks; he could smell Hinata's scent but it split into about twenty different directions. Shino's bugs were experiencing the same problem, the chakra signals were scrabbled. They sped back to the rest of their team. Kiba explained their findings to Shikamaru and the chunin nodded sadly,

"I wasn't expecting she'd be trackable if our enemy had any knowledge of our moves it stands to reason that they would blur the tracks." He groaned, "The only way we're going to find them is if our enemy comes to us."

-*-

The girl continued to run, to trip and to fall. She could hear her pursuers right behind her, laughing, taunting and yelling out to her. She heard a swishing sound, a knife hitting a tree above her. She turned and ran in yet another random direction. Vicious laughter followed her.

She somehow managed to regain her balance and sped off at an incredible speed; not knowing how she was going so fast. This speed seemed impossible, but her enemy matched her pace easily. Another knife surged down at her but she avoided it easily, she wasn't sure how she could move this fast; but she didn't have time to think. She had to escape.

-*-

Kiba stepped forwards growling, "What are you saying. So we just wait for the enemy to come to us!"

Shikamaru nodded; causing Naruto to leap forwards to join Kiba, "What!! We can't just leave her!"

Shikamaru groaned and leaned on his staff, these two would be hard to persuade. Before he could speak however, Sakura stepped infront of him. "We're not leaving her. We just need to approach this problem differently."

Naruto still wasn't convinced, he began to argue; but before he could Kiba raised his hand for silence, "Someones coming, pursued by three people." He sniffed the air. "They're getting closer."

The ninjas spun round to face the direction Kiba indicated. Turning to see a young girl fleeing out of the forest. She was busy looking over her shoulder and didn't see them, crashing straight into Kiba.

The girl sprang back to her feet, turning to run; but before she could a cold voice came from behind the group.

"You have something that belongs to the Dokujin, surrender it now or be punished."

Naruto saw Kiba turn, his eyes widening. He knew what was coming; he too had recognised the voice. Even so, Naruto could not help but gasp as he saw the pursuer.

Standing on the branch of a tree, sneering maliciously was a lone figure.

Hinata.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: We're getting to a sort of climax in the story but I'm still nowhere near the end. May I apologize to all Hinata fans for switching her onto the villains side.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything except for my story

Chapter 11: Fire and Death

"You have something that belongs to the Dokujin, surrender it now or be punished."

Naruto stepped backwards, shock overriding every part of his mind. Above him Hinata sneered, raising a hand and beckoning a young man forwards. He was a tall teen, with black hair swept back into a ponytail and piercing blue eyes. At any other time he might have been handsome but right now his features were twisted into a scowl that seemed to drain colour from the world around him.

Hinata looked down on them all, performing a mock bow that reminded Naruto strongly of the enemies they had already faced. "Go on Janen, I know you've been wanting to try your moves on living things."

Janen smirked, instantly disappearing. Naruto began to back away, but before he could Janen appeared behind him, raising his hands.

"hi youshiki : hyakuman hane no hakuchou no a^ku" (Fire style: arc of a million swans.) His open palms became waves of fire, his hands striking Naruto faster than the boy would have thought possible. Janen smiled stepping forwards to stand over the burnt genin. He raised his hands again performing another set of complex hand signs, "hi youshiki : doragon no chuushin." (Fire style: heart of the dragon)

Naruto raised his head to see three waves of flame leap from the man's mouth, turning into huge lizard heads and spreading out; heading directly towards Iho and the girl who the assassins had been chasing.

Iho's eyes widened and before he knew what he was doing, the small boy leapt to the side; dodging the waves of flame as if he had done it a thousand times before.

Hinata raised an eyebrow, her mentor had never mentioned that their prey could dodge like this. She was about to go down to join Janen when a hand was placed on her shoulder. A voice that made even her flinch whispered in her ear.

"I will go down there. I will kill them all."

"B-b-but sir." Hinata stuttered, almost unable to speak. "You can't, we're meant to capture them."

The voice radiated fury, its aura slowly killing the nature around him. "Get out of my way, brat. I want to kill you, all I need is the justification."

Hinata realised she was shaking, she allowed herself to be pushed aside as a tall man with hair as black as her darkest nightmare jumped past her. Come to think of it; he was her darkest nightmare. This was Dekibae no Ketsumei, the executioner of blood.

As Dekibae landed Janen began to back away; the tall man smiled, he could feel the boy's fear. He licked his lips he could taste the terror around him.

"I am Dekibae; I will kill you all. Now we have an understanding we can continue. Janen take care of the jonin hiding over there." He turned to Naruto,"This one's mine." He sneered down at Naruto with the cruelest smirk that the ninjas had ever seen, "His chakra is strange. His blood should be delicious."

Janen turned, searching for the ninja his master had directed him towards. Shikamaru was not surprised to see that the hiding ninja was Kakashi. The jonin stepped out of the shadows.

"Sorry I'm late. _Someone _forgot to wake me up." He glared at Kiba. Janen on the other hand was not in the mood for playing around. He raised his hands again and growled.

"Lets see if you remember this one Kakashi. Chidori!"

Kakashi barely had a chance to respond before his own move smashed into him. Seconds earlier however he managed to raise his hands just in time, casting a chidori of his own. The two met enveloping the jonin and the assassin within a bubble of energy.

Dekibae watched this all with a bored sneer. He stretched, staring down at Naruto. "Time we got on with this." He reached down and grabbed Naruto's arm for a few seconds. Pain shot through the young genin's arm causing him to scream. Dekibae let go, drawing away and leaving red welts on the ninja's arm. "Just like I thought, delicious."

Naruto rose slowly to his feet and smiled, "It'll take more than some tatty old vampire to keep me down." He summoned a shadow clone and brought his chakra into line, "Try this one. Rasengan!"

He charged but Dekibae didn't even flinch, he just cackled, "Then you try this one. Chi no bakuhatsu." (Blood Explosion.)

Naruto had barely moved when when the red welts on his arm exploded, interrupting his jutsu and sending him flying backwards. Flailing in a pool of his own blood. The assassin master grinned, "I'm disappointed in you child. I was expecting a challenge, but it looks like I'll kill you as easily as I kill everyone else who crosses my path."

Naruto struggled to rise "D-don't count me out s-so easily." He stammered and fell back to the ground. His enemy towered over him, laughing. Just laughing.

-*-

In the envelop of lightening Kakashi drew away from his opponent. His chidori deactivating as the ball of thunder collapsed, leaving a huge crater where it had once been. Kakashi was breathing heavily, even within the confines of the chakra bubble his opponent had been impossibly fast, but maybe the chakra implosion would have stopped him.

However, as the smoke cleared Kakashi saw his enemy clambering back to his feet, apparently unharmed. Janen rose back to his feet frowning slightly, "Your tougher than I expected old man. It seems your sharingan wasn't the only trick you had up your sleeve. But I'm not a weakling either keigen youshiki : naifu no torune^do" (Lightening style: Tornado of knives).

Before Kakashi could react blades of energy were forming around him. He just managed to leap out of the way as the weapons span at him; destroying the ground around him. Janen's jutsus moved almost as fast as Might Guy's. Janen sneered; enjoying the sight of his enemy fleeing. "You people really are pathetic. Come on Hinata, I need a little help here."

-*-

Kiba and Shino finally became able to see their enemy clearly and jumped forwards to face the two assassins. However before they could Hinata leapt off the branch she was standing on and came rushing down at them; smashing Kiba off his feet and spinning round, driving her foot into the side of Shino's head. Shino staggered for a minute before regaining his balance, Kiba flipped back onto his feet. Kiba growled and leapt at Hinata, but he passed through her like a ripple in a stream; she smiled,

"It will take more than that to defeat me." She turned away from the two, "Enjoy my little genjutsu rodents."

Shino moved to run after her, but before he could the world around him began to collapse and he pitched forwards.

-*-

Shikamaru watched in horror as his friends were attacked by someone who, mere hours before, he would have been proud to class as his friend. He turned to Sakura,

"Shino and Kiba both know about genjutsus and how to avoid them. It's safe to assume that this one is particularly powerful." He turned back to the fight, "And the fact that Hinata is still using hand signs would suggest she is still casting the illusion. I would therefore assume that she is using some sort of genjutsu net. Stepping within it would spell defeat easily." He lowered his head in thought, "We need to come up with a plan before we act."

Sakura nodded, he was right, but that didn't make it any easier to just watch while your friends fought for their lives. She was just about to argue when Shikamaru's eyes snapped open and he smiled.

"Yes. I've got it." He looked over at the battle, "It's time we turned the tables on the Dokujin."


	12. Chapter 12

AN: This story concept has changed quite a bit since I fist started to write it. Please review, I like to know that people are reading my story.

Chapter 12: Eyes of the Shadows

Kaodori looked out over the battle, this would soon be over. The enemy was either hugely injured or helpless, his fellow assassins were on the verge of victory. He smiled and turned away, this was as good as finished.

-*-

Naruto tried yet again to stand, his legs shook and he fell back to the ground. Dekibae grimaced, "Don't you ever give up?" He bent down and placed a finger in Naruto's blood. The blood began to siphon into the vampires hand; he straighted and smiled. "Your blood is exquisite, it's a shame you have so little. " He began to make hand signs, "This will get all that blood out of you, little worm." He raised a hand above his head, watching Naruto struggle. "Chi no baku-"

Dekibae never finished his hand signs; Akamaru had somehow avoided Hinata's genjutsu and smashed into Dekibae throwing him off his feet. The vampire leapt back up and roared, "Stupid dog!" He spun away from Naruto, "I'll just have to kill you all."

-*-

Shikamaru leaned on his staff watching the fight, his shadows speeding out towards Hinata. As his chakra entered the genjutsu he felt himself fall under its power. Fortunately for him Sakura easily snapped him out of it, with her own chakra. Shikamaru smiled; Hinata was too busy focusing on Kakashi and Janen's fight to notice the shadows, but then again, they weren't directed at her.

The shadows slipped easily through the jutsu, reaching Kiba and Shino, fusing with their own shadows. Shikamaru's chakra disrupting the genjutsu that held his two friends, allowing Kiba and Shino to get up again.

-*-

Janen skid backwards, raising both his hands and releasing a huge wave of flame. Kakashi barely had time to dodge, without his sharingan he was suffering against an enemy this fast. Janen on the other hand easily avoided Kakashi's retaliation, at the same time he began to talk.

"Kakashi Hatake, correct?" Kakashi nodded, Janen growled, "I'm going to enjoy defeating you, after what you did." He darted forwards, with incredible speed. Kakashi leapt back, but Janen was unbelievably aggressive, massively angry. Kakashi stumbled away, even with his ANBU training this boy was beginning to scare him; even the best ninja needed to know when to be afraid.

-*-

Kiba leapt forwards, aiming straight at Dekibae, Shino alongside him. Dekibae raised his hand to his mouth, biting his finger as if he were about to perform a summoning.

"jiko no chi infure^shon" (Self blood inflation jutsu) Dekibae flung his had out, but instead of a mere drop of blood, a huge torrent blasted out, "chi no honoo gijutsu" (Blood flame) Every drop of blood became a spinning ball of fire ripping through the air and striking the ninjas. However Shino's bugs blocked this attack and the vampire ninja roared with fury. He stepped forwards, but was knocked backwards head over heels by Kiba.

-*-

Naruto however wasted no time on the vampire, instead heading straight for Hinata. She looked up at him, a look of recognition slowly appearing on her face, only to be replaced by an expression of pure hatred. Janen saw Naruto's move too and immediately forgot about Kakashi, instead heading straight for the genin, channeling all of his energy into violent attacks.

Dekibae saw Janen leave Kakashi, he saw the jonin begin to head straight at him, and he roared again, "Janen, stop! Now!"

Janen ignored his superior, striking at Naruto with wild, inaccurate rage. He struck out, his chakra forming into huge waves of flame. He roared, screaming and thrashing, punching out at Naruto as if his life depended on it. Knocking the genin to the ground, bringing his fist down when...

"Janen, STOP!"

Janen froze, hand inches from Naruto's head, he turned to look up at the person who had spoken, Hinata. She stood with her hand raised, the look of hatred replaced with a look of sorrow. Janen stood back, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He looked down, "I just thought, after what _he _did."

Hinata shook her head and Janen drew away, obviously exhausted. He glared at Naruto then turned and leapt towards the larger fight, but before he reached it another voice sounded out.

"Dekibae, Janen, Hinata, stop!" Sakura was the first to see the speaker, a young man with a sandy blond ponytail and an umbrella stood on a tree branch. He raised the brim of his hat allowing the ninjas to see his face, "Your mission was too recapture the escapee, not to indulge your killing skills, cease at once." He turned to Sakura and Shikamaru, "We have no quarrel with you ninja, it was never our intention for you to be caught up in this. " He returned his attention to the assassins, "You three, we leave now."

Without another word, the four assassins leapt into the air and disappeared back into the forest.

-*-

Kaodori smiled as the four assassins landed infront of him. He rose from the shadows with a look of expectancy on his face.

"Well did you have time to assess the enemy. The man with the umbrella nodded and the shadow assassin let out a cold laugh, "Are you satisfied Sanseiu. Their skills were exactly as I specified."

Sanseiu, raised his head, "I don't remember you mentioning that the shadow possession jutsu could interfere with genjutsu."

"That was an unfortunate oversight on the part of the record makers, my techniques are sound."

"Maybe so, but I still believe that actual battle is the only way to achieve true knowledge of the enemy."

"It seems death truly is the measure of all things."


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I want to thank everyone who has been reading my story. Please review.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and, unless I learn Japanese, I never will._

Chapter 13: Wires

Tsunade looked down at the files Shizune had brought her. She groaned, Dokuga, Uji Shichu, she had hoped never to hear two names of such infamous ninjas together in the same mission. However that wasn't the most disturbing information, the shadow techniques Shikamaru's report had described only fitted a handful of missing ninjas, the most likely being...

She shook her head, it couldn't be true, their luck couldn't possibly be that terrible. She picked up the file again and began to read.

_Kaodori. Ex-ANBU captain, one of the greatest spies in recorded history. Generally avoids head on attack._

She read on, growing more and more annoyed with each sentence. This man may be weaker in actual battle, but his information gathering was second to none. Tsunade reached the footnote, knowing what it was going to say; she groaned again and turned away from her desk to look out of the window.

"Shizune get in here!"

The hokage's assistant appeared at the door, "Yes Lady Tsunade."

"I want the mission to the Land of Corn reclassified as an A-grade mission and send reinforcements."

Shizune was stunned for a second, "But, Lady Hokage, why?"

Tsunade sighed and passed Kaodori's file over to Shizune. She looked read it stopping at the last paragraph and reading it aloud,

"_Original affiliation: Konoha"_

-*-

The ANBU captain smiled under his mask, this mission would be simple. The only thing he objected about was having to work with children. Even the two units of scouts that he had been sent were little more than glorified chunin. The captain frowned, he supposed he would have to check on the scouts about now, they had just left the village and he needed to confirm tactics. He called his ANBU team in and they sped ahead, seeing a clearing ahead.

"Hey scouts I expect a report every..." The captain's voice died in his throat as he entered the clearing. Even with his ANBU training he was completely shocked.

The trees had been shredded, the plants torn up, deep furrows scarred the earth. The very life of the forest seemed to have been ripped, a gash in the world.

The ANBU captain's eyes widened, this devastation was horrendous and in the middle of this destruction... Twelve freshly dug graves, eight were full with the corpses of the scout teams. Four more were empty; waiting for the black-ops.

"Are you just going to stand there, or should we come and put you in those graves."

Three figures stepped out of the shadows. The one in the lead wore a navy blue bandanna and a large, heavy black cloak, he was slouching heavily with his hands hidden in his pockets. Even so he emanated authority, he was obviously the leader. He sneered at the ANBU, "We need someone to fill those graves."

The second hung back, a medium sized figure in a white hood, nothing was visible below the cloak. The third was younger than the others, around 17 the ANBU would have guessed. He was also the biggest, a literal mountain of a man, the captain took a step back, grimacing, the third man was one of the largest men the black-op had ever seen. He carried a huge plank over his shoulder, with another plank tied about halfway up it; forming a sort of cross, like the ones that were placed on graves.

The huge man raised the cross off his shoulder, placing it next to him and leaning on the cross-piece. "You should leave."

The man with the bandanna smiled, with false warmth, "Now, now Jakko. Our friends will be staying for quite a while."

Slowly the man raised his hands from his pockets, revealing fingerless gloves, and straightened up. A strand of black hair fell from his bandanna, suddenly the captain knew something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what it was. The man turned round, "Ninea, are these the ones we're after."

The hooded figure shook her head and the leader sighed, then spun round, his hair glinting.

The ANBU captain suddenly released what was wrong about the man, his hair reflected the light to well, it was almost metallic, like wire.

Wait... All this talking it was all a distraction. He looked down at his feet to see wires flicking out, coiling along the ground, sneaking straight towards him.

It was a trap!

-*-

Jakko rammed the cross into the ground, his huge strength easily cracking mud and stone alike. He set up the huge headstone and turned his back, facing his team leader, towering over him.

"Was all that necessary? We could of just captured them."

The smaller man smiled, "Jakko you're an assassin, stop acting like a scared child. We kill because thats what we were hired to do."

Jakko growled, "You kill because you enjoy it." He turned his back, "Next time don't mess around, just kill them quickly."

The team leader shrugged and turned away. His wires snaking back to him, he motioned his team to follow him and they quickly left the clearing. Leaving it empty and scarred, the only signs that the assassins had been there was a large memorial cross...

And twelve freshly filled graves.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: I finally assembled all the characters so maybe now we can start moving a little more quickly. (Please remember that Hinata's memories have been altered by Monotori.)

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, (not yet anyway Mwhahahaha.)_

Chapter 14: Memory

Hinata sat in the corner of the camp, she had left the others to plan; she needed to be alone, she needed time to think. That boy, Naruto Uzumaki, for as long as she remembered she had wanted to kill him. So why hadn't she been able to today? She buried her head in her hands. Why wasn't she strong enough, what was wrong with her?

Hinata began to think back, her memories were always so hard for her to understand, so fragmented, as if they weren't completely hers.

She couldn't remember the last time she had been happy or anyone had cared for her, looking back into her memories was like looking into a nightmare, a world without joy, a world without peace, a world without love or even basic friendship. Even the very notion of these things had seemed like an alien concept back then; something others had, but she would never understand. Her earliest memory itself was one of the worst, the murder of her family, watching from her hiding place as they were cut down, too scared to even breathe.

From then on Hinata had never been truly happy again, moved from orphanage to orphanage, treated worse than dirt at each one; no one in the Konoha village had cared for her, preferring instead to look down on her, to make her life hell. The worst of them, she remembered, had been Naruto himself.

That is why she had ran; that was why, for years, she had moved slowly from place to place. She had almost starved, she had been soaked and exhausted; but one thing kept her going, the thought that she was getting further and further away from the village she hated and from Naruto.

When the assassins had found her she had been close to dead, they had fed her, trained her, protected her; the Dokujin had replaced the family she had lost, the family she had never known, they had made her feel loved, even if she had had to kill for them to get it.

"Are you okay?" The voice snapped Hinata out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Janen standing over her. She smiled; Janen was one of the few people she had met who she felt truly understood her. Janen too had been chased from the village he grew up in, however he was a victim of war, not just the villagers.

Janen sat himself down next to Hinata, for all the time he had known her he had always considered the girl a younger sister. It was his duty to protect her, to help her, so why had she stopped him today? He had sensed the hatred Hinata had for that boy, why had she spared him? If asked to Janen could have snapped Naruto's back with a single jutsu. He stopped himself; it wasn't his place to question Hinata, she would have her reasons, and if he needed to know she would tell him, she always had.

He moved to stand up and walk away, but Hinata stopped him. He turned and looked down at her, she frowned, "Why couldn't I kill that boy?"

Janen smiled crouching down to her level, "You're a kind person Hinata and you've got a good heart. You're no killer, I know that. I also know that if you ever need help, if you're not strong enough; I'll be there to help you, that's what friends are for after all." He got back to his feet and, motioning Hinata to follow, moved back to join the rest of the assassins around the fire.

-*-

Sanseiu placed his bowl onto the ground, he raised a hand for silence and began to address the other assassins. "We have assessed the skills of the enemy more thoroughly and have come to the conclusion that they are not in a position to threaten our mission."

Dekibae growled, "Why can't we just kill them? Kaodori and Monotori have confirmed it; they're just weaklings. I could rip them up and drink their blood!" He finished in an almost hysterical screech.

Jakko threw his bowl down, "They are not part of our mission, we can't kill them."

Chessokei was the next to speak, hefting his huge metal tank back onto his back, "We can't let them go, that would damage my record. I'm not letting someone go just because Jakko has a change of heart."

Dokuga had been examining a vial in the corner; hearing the others arguing he placed the vial back in his coat and looked up, "We could poison the water, I have some poisons that are so discrete that not even Jakko could object."

Sanseiu shook his head, "We have to drink that water too. We can't risk it, your antidotes aren't always effective the first few times; there are too many variables."

Kaodori began to form slowly out of the shadows, "These enemies should be dealt with quickly, an ambush would be the most effective technique. Sanseiu, your team has the most experience of these ninjas."

Sanseiu smiled and picked up his bowl, they had finished planning just as Janen and Hinata had returned. He beckoned them over and offered them some food; unfortunately all they had was some of Dokuga's usual disgusting gruel, but at least it provided nutrients.

Dekibae watched them and sneered, "Why do you stomach that trash?" He raised a squirming rat to his lips, "Enjoy your meal." Within seconds the rat had been reduced to a skeleton, which he threw to the ground.

Uji looked down at the skeleton and grimaced, "What a waste." He picked up the rodent skeleton, closing his hand on it; there was a sickening scraping sound and Uji opened his fist, to reveal an empty palm.

Chessokei groaned, somehow he had managed to eat his meal without removing his mask. "Watching you two eat disgusts me."  
Uji smiled, "At least you can see me eat. You're just cocooned in mechanical junk."

The conversation had deteriorated into an argument so quickly that Hinata didn't even have time for the usual peace making and attempted reconciliation. Even so she couldn't help smiling, just for once it was nice to feel part of a family. Even assassins were better than nothing.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: Thank you to everyone who is following my story. I hope your enjoying it.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters._

Chapter 15: Risoka

Since the assassins had left, Shikamaru's team had been running backwards and forwards building defenses, in case the assassins returned. Meanwhile, Sakura had examined the girl who had been fleeing from the assassins. The girl said her name was Risoka but beyond that she knew no more than Iho; any hope the ninjas had had of learning more about their enemy was dashed.

Sakura sighed and placed her report down on the table infront of her. Risoka had no more to offer than Iho. She looked up to see the two children, the small black haired boy and the older girl (Risoka) with her long brown hair, talking animately in an attempt to remember anything at all from their earlier lives. Risoka shook her head and walked over to Sakura.

"I just wanted to apologise, I'm sorry we couldn't be of more help. I just can't remember anything." She groaned, then raised her head, "Except..." She lowered her head again and winced. "Something about..." She winced again, "Red Lightening and... Something one of the assassins said, 'Garasuka'."

-*-

Kakashi groaned, he had just been told about Risoka's information, and had summoned the rest of the ninjas; he turned to Shikamaru, "This is most likely a trap. You do realise that."

Shikamaru nodded, "Give us what we want and we fall into an ambush. But it's too good an opportunity to miss; if it is genuine, we can learn a huge amount about our opponents, including their weaknesses."

Kakashi looked unsure, "It's unlikely to be true. There is more chance that we are walking into a trap set by enemies much more powerful than us."

"We can't just let this chance pass us by." Kiba and Naruto had both leapt to their feet and were complaining loudly, "What about Hinata, we have to save her."

Shikamaru rose to his feet, once again using a makeshift staff, "I think we're all agreed that we can't afford to miss this chance. We may gain some useful information to help us succeed in our mission and that also puts us one step closer to getting Hinata back. However, we can't just rush in; I want everyone to prepare precautions in case we meet any of the enemies we have previously encountered. I also believe that we should leave one person behind on this investigation so that if we do not return within three hours they will investigate. If necessary I will include a request for reinforcements in my next report."

Kakashi groaned lowering his head, it was obviously a trap; but Shikamaru was right, it was too good to miss and even if it hadn't been, he never would have been able to persuade Naruto and Kiba to give up.

-*-

Garasuka stood up, crossing over to his window and peering cautiously out into the night. The old man sighed, turning away, he had to stop being so paranoid. Grimacing he brushed some of his white hair out of his eyes; he couldn't relax any more, they were always one step ahead, waiting to come out, waiting to... well the less he thought about that the better.

It was raining again, rain always made Garasuka nervous, it reminded him of his past. Garasuka hated his past; but at least he never had to go back, he was retired.

-*-

Risoka walked slowly through the village, she knew this place, she was sure of it. The ninjas behind her all trailed slowly in her wake; unsure where they were going. Iho alone seemed to recognise this place; sometimes he found the correct path before even Risoka herself.

For Shikamaru however this was still more confirmation that they were walking straight into an ambush, but he kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to discourage his friends. He merely said nothing, proceeding slowly with Sakura's support; ever since he had been poisoned the chunin had felt over a thousand years old. He supposed he should have expected it, his enemy never would have given him the full antidote. He smiled slightly, Asuma had always said that he was like an old man, but now he really felt like one.

Risoka looked up again turning yet another corner; suddenly they were in a section of the village unlike any they had been in before. It was rundown and broken, the buildings were ruined, ready to fall apart if they were struck by so much as a gentle breeze.

Kiba raised his head, the smells in this area were confused; whoever lived here didn't want to be found, even if they had to sacrifice their own comfort. They continued down the streets, that had now become dark twisting alleyways; like a web knitted by some demonic arachnid. They stopped infront of a single building, larger than all the rest, yet somehow even more ruined. Kiba looked around, this building looked like it used to be some sort of shop, it still had some broken items in the windows; not anything anyone would want, just junk.

Shikamaru bent down, shifting a few broken pieces of glass from the ground, he smiled, "I think we've found what we were looking for." He raised a piece of charred wood from the ground so the others could see it. It was rotten and decayed, with letters carved out in thin graceful lines.

"Garasuka."


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I hope everyone is enjoying this story, I'm certainly enjoying writing it.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I just write fanfics._

Chapter 16: Storms in the mirror

Shikamaru placed the sign back down and sighed, it was too late to turn back now. The chunin raised his hand and signaled to Kiba, who stepped forwards and knocked on the door of the building. The door clicked open nearly immediately, and they were instantly faced by a large man holding a crossbow.

"What do you want?" He sent a warning bolt flying just above Kiba's head. Then he stopped and took careful aim. "You aren't from the Dokujin?"

Shikamaru stepped forwards, before Naruto or Kiba could get worked up. "No we're trying to defeat that particular group. We believe you may have information on them. I assume you're Garasuka."

The man nodded and, as he stepped back into the light, Kiba saw he was a lot older than they had expected. A grey haired old man, so thin that his bone shape showed through his skin and unnaturally pale. The man may have been quite large but now he just looked tired. Garasuka raised his arms ushering them in.

Naruto cast his eyes around the room, it was amazing that someone like this could know so much about the assassins. The entire room was a mess, the furniture looked like it had just been thrown in; but it wasn't this that caught the eye. The whole room was filled with glass sculptures, ornately detailed and expertly carved, they were probably some of the most beautiful art in the world.

Garasuka noticed that Naruto was distracted, "Do you like my works? In my time I was one of the most famous sculptors in the world. But back to business, what do you know about the Dokujin?"

Shino raised his hands and sent his bugs out surrounding the house. Then, once he was sure that the area was defended, he turned to answer Garasuka, "We've met a few of the assassins but we still don't have much information."

The old man smiled and shook his head, "Do you know enough to see the truth? Do you know enough to leave." He raised his hand to stop the ninjas from complaining, "Obviously not, but you should go. One failed mission is not worth seven young lives, not to save some village you've never visited. I promise you, if you continue you're mission you will not survive."

Naruto leapt to his feet, his arms almost knocking over one of the sculptures that filled the room. "What do you know? We'll defeat the Dokujin and rescue Hinata."

Garasuka sneered, "I'll have you know that I trained those ninjas. As for your friend, who I assume has been taken by them, they're as good as dead. Those assassins are all infinitely powerful, since the time I knew them they have hugely improved."

Shikamaru groaned, rising to his feet and crossed the room, "Can you be more specific? Jutsu types? The amount of assassins?"

Garasuka smiled, "I can't be more specific unless you inform me which assassins you have previously encountered."

Shikamaru nodded and slowly explained the details of the assassins they had met already, Garasuka listened carefully, only speaking once the chunin had finished, "By the sound of things you encountered team three. You couldn't have been more unlucky, they were some of my most powerful trainees I ever had." He shook his head again, "In a way it's sad, I always hoped they'd grow up to be better than that." Garasuka lapsed into silence, starring down at his feet; lost in thought.

Shikamaru realised that the old man wouldn't be saying anything more until he had recovered and so turned away to stare out of the window. The rain had stopped, the sun could be seen shining through the clouds, making the area seem somehow more alive...

So why could he still hear the rain striking the roof?

He looked around, the others hadn't noticed, they were still examining Garasuka's statues. Naruto and Kiba stood infront of a glass statue, a statue of the nine-tailed fox. Shikamaru smiled, maybe he was over reacting.

But the rain was getting heavier. The sound becoming deafening, beams on the roof buckled and splintered, slates and bricks cracked, huge pieces of masonry crashed down. As if caught in bubbles that were drifting apart the house split into, and a strangely artificial voice called out, overpowering even the thunder,

"You are enemies of the Dokujin, prepare to die."


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto_

Ice in the Wind

The walls of the building shattered under the force of the wind and Sanseiu sneered, nothing could stand against his storms. Nothing except his teammates.

-*-

Even before the voice of the assassin had stopped echoing around the room, Shikamaru saw the figures looming out of the rain. A huge figure was the first to step into view, he was hunched over but still the largest thing in the room. His body was covered in metal piping and huge steel gauntlets covered his hands. He cast his gaze around the room and Shikamaru was sure the man was sneering, however he couldn't be sure as the man's face was entirely obscured by a large gas mask, only gleaming red eyes were visible. He growled, his voice strangely metallic,

"It's good to see you sensei, I've wanted to meet you again for a long time."

Garasuka stood up slowly, "Ah Chessokei, I trust you realise that you are not able to defeat all of us alone, no matter how powerful you have become"

Chessokei laughed, the sound crackling slightly, "Of course master, I wouldn't deprive my friends of our little reunion, just how naive do you truly think I am?" As he spoke the man shifted his balance, bringing the two gas tanks on his back into position, at the same time another figure appeared beside him; Monotori of the Stolen Sky.

Garasuka groaned, "I had hoped that you would do better with your life Monotori, I had hoped that you would escape from that walk of life."

Monotori smiled, discarding his large cloak he straighted up, even Garasuka flinched slightly as he saw Monotori's clothing; hundreds of belts crossed his shirt, covered with thousands of ninjas headbands, each coated in blood. Thousands of memories that had once come against Monotori's jutsus, then ceased to be unique. Garasuka smiled slightly,

"I think I've finally realised why you perform that disgusting jutsu; you take other memories to hide your own, you bury your memories because you can't bear to look back." As Garasuka spoke the statues around him slowly began to collapse; the glass they were made of melting, falling into an endless stream of liquid. Garasuka chuckled, "I seem to remember that none of you ever managed to avoid my technique before; let's see if you have improved enough since then."

Monotori smiled a leapt forwards, but was immediately blocked by a wall of glass; Garasuka sneered, "Don't think that you can just outrun me, you're as overconfident as ever."

Chessokei did not bother charging; instead he shifted his balance once again, raising his gauntleted hands, "I think you'll be surprised what I can do sensei." Even as the wall of glass surged towards him a thin mist shot out of his glove. The flow of glass slowed stopped and finally shattered. "We've all grown stronger since you abandoned us."

The rage of the wind stopped suddenly, the rain curving gently down; a bored voice sounded out of the storm, "Stop getting so sentimental Chessokei; kill him now. I'll get the rest of them." The storm began to swirl, spinning down into a tornado of rain and thunder; a single man descended, falling through a wall of clouds. Two feet tapped onto the ground and a young man lowered his umbrella. "Do you remember me sir?" He lowered his rain hat over his eyes.

Garasuka began to smile, "Sanseiu, I wondered when you'd turn up. You won't be leaving."

Sanseiu groaned, "I don't have time to listen to this, you pathetic sack of bones. Chessokei, Monotori, deal with him."

Chessokei smiled and raised his huge gauntlets; before anyone could move a massive spray of something shot out, completely surrounding Garasuka, "Liquid Nitrogen," He explained, "No one can stand against that kind of temperature drop; even diamond will shatter if it gets cold enough. You're dead."

Risoka almost screamed as the spray engulfed Garasuka, but he merely smiled; his skin dulled, taking on the hue of coloured glass, then he shattered. His laugh carrying across the room. "You won't kill me that easily. I doubt you'd even be able to."

Sanseiu smiled again, "Very good master. Chessokei, help me deal with these kids. Monotori, I'll let you handle our dear old sensei." He moved forwards, raising his umbrella again, "So who wants to die first."

Shino stepped into Sanseiu's way, Kiba turned to face Chessokei. These opponents had already proved themselves powerful; it would take everything the ninjas had to stop them.

Chessokei groaned, "Don't get in my way kid; the fact that your little insects didn't tell you about our presence should give you a hint to the power difference between you and I." He shifted his stance again raising one fist above his head, "Shall I remind you?"  
Kiba watched as Shino went spinning back into the wall; the assassin hadn't even bothered using a jutsu. Kiba swore, if this was the power of the Dokujin he didn't really see how they could win, but they had to. He charged; the man with the umbrella leapt over him, landing gracefully and smiling up at Kiba. "Try this then kid. Sanseiu: no sa^ji no doragon (Acid rain: Surge Dragon.)" At his words the storm shifted, the rain forming together into one impenetrable sheet. The water whirled through the sky, steam rising from the timbers of the house as they melted at the touch of the water. "San no ha : harike^n chikara (Acid blade: Hurricane force)."

As Kiba watched the tornado of rain took the form of a rippling dragon, storming down out of the sky, it struck Kiba before he could dodge, burning his skin, tearing his clothes, next it spun smashing Akamaru and leaving them lying in a battered pile of blood and clothing. Their opponent wasn't even tired, he smiled, "That was level one acidity. My attacks go up to level ten."

Kiba dragged himself back to his feet; Akamaru transforming into the half-beast Kiba clone as Kiba dropped to all fours, "That jutsu packs quite a punch. But you're not gonna keep me down. Let's see just how powerful you S-ranks really are." He charged at the enemy. Sanseiu sneered again and raised his umbrella; beckoning to Kiba.

-*-

Shino struggled to rise, falling forwards as his legs failed to support his weight; that assassin had done a huge amount of damage with merely a single punch. He groaned and tried again but before he could his opponent turned away to face new enemies that had come up behind him; Kakashi and Risoka stood against him. Chessokei grunted, "This could get interesting, I've been wanting to kill an ex-black op for a while now."

-*-

Monotori surged towards his old master, dodging the waves and shards of glass that spun towards him; he raised his hand, red lightening covering it, "You're gonna die sensei." His hysterical screams sounded above the thunder, "You're gonna die for abandoning us."


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other Manga whatsoever. I am just a dedicated fan._

Chapter 18: Storm Flow

Kakashi dodged again; he and Risoka had only been fighting this assassin for a few minutes, but already he could see a huge power difference between them and the assassin. Without the sharingan Kakashi couldn't easily predict his opponents moves; he could only hope that no new enemies would arrive, if that happened his team would be destroyed. He tapped off the ground again as his enemy sent another spray of his freezing fog straight at him. Chessokei laughed, "You can't dodge forever." He turned to launch a blast at Risoka, "But I'm surprised that you could survive against me for this long. Wait..." He laughed again, firing another shot.

"What's so funny?" Risoka yelled, "What do you know about me?"

Chessokei sneered, "What makes you assume that I know anything about you? You're just some worthless piece of scum Monotori picked up as a training dummy."

Risoka stopped, dumbfounded, and as she did Chessokei brought his fist forwards into her stomach, sending her spinning across the ground. He turned to Kakashi.

"Now, I can start to get serious."

-*-

Monotori dodged away from another wave of glass, between his old master and him was a wall of jutsus not even he could penetrate. His jutsu couldn't take effect unless he got in close. "You can't run forever master, I'll catch you and kill you soon enough."

Garasuka smiled and dropped backwards, sending a wave of glass smashing into Monotori and throwing him off his feet. "You know that's not true kid. You're not tough enough to defeat me yet."

Monotori dragged himself to his feet; he dodged away from the next wave of glass, he blasted it to shreds with a wave of thunder. He smiled, his new sharingan was brilliant; he could easily predict his old masters moves as long as he kept concentrating. He sent a wave of red energy spinning around his hands, "Come on master; I want to show you a new move."

-*-

Kiba's attack sent him crashing into a wall; his enemy had somehow deflected his Fang over Fang jutsu. Sanseiu straightened up sneering, "It's no challenge just fighting one of you." He gestured to Naruto, "Come on Kid, attack me; I could do with some practice." He pointed his umbrella directly at where Kiba lay. Before Kiba even had a chance to move; the rain swirled towards him, smashing the air from his lungs, cutting his clothes and ripping into his flesh. He couldn't breath under the weight of the water, he was drowning; then it let up as suddenly as it had begun. Sanseiu raised his umbrella again, releasing the jutsu, "You can't even avoid my most simple jutsus. You kids should just get out of my way and let me do what I came here for."

While the assassins back was turned Naruto had created a clone and now charged forwards, bringing a rasengan straight at Sanseiu. The assassin heard his footsteps and swung round raising his umbrella. Before Naruto knew what was happening he was struck in the side of the face, knocking him off balance and causing his chakra to diffuse, the rasengan disappeared.

Sanseiu smiled, "You really believe a simple jutsu like that could defeat me. You underestimate our power kid. In fact, at this rate you won't even last a minute." He raised his umbrella and the rain above him formed into one solid sheet, hovering above the battle, "I think I'll show you what a real jutsu is like kid."

-*-

Chessokei saw the storm change, he felt the gale and tempest pulling itself all into one place, he smiled; to think that, without handsigns, Sanseiu could still use that level of power. He ceased his attack and looked up at his enemy; who had once again fallen back to regain his breath. He smiled, "You guys are pathetic. Now run." He gestured to the sky, "Or this jutsu will blow you brats away." The huge assassin crouched down, his feet shifting into a defensive stance. He groaned, even he would have trouble surviving this jutsu in such a confined space.

-*-

Naruto fell back once again, the hurricane surrounding Sanseiu was repelling every attack he threw at it. Even Shikamaru, who had finally joined the fight, couldn't get his chakra to pass through the wall of water. The assassin just smiled down at their attempts, raising his hands he rose through the storm, until he was level with the sheet of water he had created. Closing his eyes Sanseiu concentrated and the water began to break up; spinning it separated into countless piece, each piece rotating faster and faster, reforming. The water lengthened sharpening and whirling, until thousands of huge needles of water floated above the assassin the ground cracked and the needles began to orbit around Sanseiu, increasing speed so they were just a blur of liquid in a deafening tempest.

The rain assassin sneered, "You runts couldn't even last out against my weakest attacks. You won't even be able to move when I've finished this jutsu."

-*-

Monotori dodged again red energy spinning from his hands. He tapped off the ground spinning his body in midair, he vaulted over his master striking out at the same time. Garasuka ducked under the blow but failed to see Monotori's foot. It swung up, slamming into his chest and sending him flying. Monotori smiled a trail of red energy joining him and his master as he raised his hand.

"Nusuma reta sora : saisei no kodai kaminari (Stolen Sky: Ancient thunder Rebirth)"


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Sorry this update took so long. I've been busy reading some other fanfics. Dekibae no Ketsumei was mentioned earlier in the story for those who can't remember.**

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the Dokujin._

Chapter 19: Remember the Darkness

Garasuka struggled back to his feet. He still remembered all of his jutsus, Monotori must not have been able to perform his jutsu; but if that was so why was the assassin smiling? He groaned, "Is this that new jutsu you were talking about child?"

Monotori nodded slowly, "Yes master. This move allows me to show you any memory I have encountered so far. I can show you anything. What would you like, a young man who was abandoned by his friends? A war orphan? Maybe something closer to home. How about..." he Paused, "Dekibae?"

The memory ninja lowered his arm again and as he did Garasuka's vision blurred, as it reformed he saw a different scene. Darkness...

Complete darkness surround him as the glass ninja pulled himself to his feet. He brushed the chains from his arms, it felt good to be rid of them but he wasn't sure why. He would of looked around at the room but he couldn't control his body. He realised that this must be some affect of the jutsu; it made sense, Garasuka assumed he was in Dekibae's memory, the assassin must have known this room back to front. He began to walk slowly forwards he tried to turn but once again his body simply ignored him; instead he found himself raising his hand as he approached the door of what he had now come to realise was a cell.

It felt brilliant to be this close to the sunlight, Garasuka once again felt Dekibae's memories and feelings surging into him, almost over powering his own thoughts. He brought his hand crashing down crashing through the timbers and blowing the door off its hinges.

Guards came running almost immediately, before Garasuka could think he had been surrounded on all sides. He barely noticed, in his younger days the old assassin had slaughtered his way through a hundred times this many opponents. He felt his arms raise, he didn't really notice; the best way to counter any form of genjutsu was to simply ignore it, he knew that from years of experience.

Something felt different this time though, he could literally feel his pupils feelings swirling through his mind, consuming his own. His hand came down and the guards disappeared in a torrent of blood; Garasuka mentally flinched, it wasn't just the brutality, the fury, he could feel Dekibae's joy. The elation at this slaughter, the feeling that these people deserved to die; after what they had done to him. He would laugh as their lives collapse, they would scream the world would burn and he... he would look down with joy. Garasuka felt himself leap from the ground, the world around him becoming a blur of motion and blood.

He stopped, from somewhere in the distance a low rumbling sound was coming; as Garasuka watched from the eyes of his student the walls began to shake, cracks splitting across them as the vibrations grew larger. It was as if the world itself was splitting apart.

As the building fell apart a single man stepped into Garasuka's sight. He was thin and to Dekibae's mind he obviously embodied the pure feeling of hatred. The man smiled down at Garasuka, almost sympathetically, but his eyes told a different story, pure contempt. "Are you going somewhere boy." He looked down at one of the corpses that lay scattered around, "It seems that you have wasted quite a lot of resources here. How unfortunate. You have also forced me to resort to one of my less stable techniques. Once again, incredibly unfortunate." He drew a long two-handed sword from his belt; he smiled again, "Let me see just how powerful our greatest experiment is then." He raised his sword and came at Garasuka faster than the old man could believe was possible; fortunately for him the younger man's body sidestepped the move, the sword twisting intricately grazing Garasuka's face and deeply cutting his arm. The swordsman landed, spinning round and slashing his sword downwards, the floor cracked, a huge shock wave surged forwards carrying shards of tiling and stone in its wake and throwing Garasuka off his feet. The swordsman sneered, however this expression soon fell from his face as Garasuka leapt forwards, bringing his hand up and slashing at the man's face, leaving a thin cut just above his enemy's left eye. The man growled, bringing his knee up straight into Garasuka's jaw, he then brought his sword around smashing the pommel straight into Garasuka's side, he pulled it back before hammering it back down onto his victim's back. As that strike connected Garasuka's legs gave way and he fell flat on his face. The swordsman smiled, bending down to look into the broken man's eyes. "Any last words boy." Garasuka felt his body move trying to rise, but it was hopeless, "Nothing, how unfortunate; go on, say something."

Garasuka shifted his gaze from the left to the right, he smiled, "Chi no bakuhatsu."

The swordsman straightened up, he spun around. Every surface every corpse was covered... in blood. He opened his mouth to scream, but before he could make the slightest sound he was engulfed in flame, his scream drowned out by the wave of destruction. Garasuka's vision was filled with blinding light, then it ended.

He found himself looking straight into Monotori's eyes, he felt completely drained, barely able to stand. Monotori drew away, lowering his hand. "It is time to put an end to this master. I apologise, but I am only doing what you told me to."

Garasuka nodded solemnly, "I understand, to me you will always be the small boy wandering in the storm but I suppose we all have to move on. Just remember, one day you too will fall, that is how we chose to live. Just remember that." He sighed, raising his arms and crossing them against his chest. His eyes closed and he smiled, "I really had hoped that you would do so much better."

Monotori frowned, nostalgia washing over him; even with all those memories filling his mind he still remembered how kind his master had been. For just a moment doubt showed in his eyes, then it was gone, replaced with stone cold conviction. His raised his arms, calling to mind one of his most devastating jutsus, "Inferuno no unmei : sumoggu no nai ha (Inferno of Doom: Smog implosion)". A wave of flame surged out of his palms, smoke billowing from the memory assassin's mouth, within seconds it would all be over; it would be almost painless.

At that exact moment the sky itself seemed to tear in half, a thousand shards of water plummeting down from the sky in a hurricane of liquid razors.

... ...

Fire and water met in a surge of destruction and steam. The stones that made up the buildings of the area were blown away, not giving even the slightest defense. The storm raged tearing everything in its path away, the true power of nature. The rundown buildings and unkempt roads were blasted into oblivion.

Only one point survived the onslaught; Kakashi lowered his Chidori falling to his knees, it had taken all the strength he had had to cut the storm, allowing his team to shelter safely behind him. He already knew that if he hadn't, none of his team would have survived that final attack, even with all his power he had still suffered injury at the hand of that blast.

He smiled, glad his friends were safe and the assassins seemed to have left. The relief washed over him as he collapsed into unconsciousness.


End file.
